14-year-old Shareef Elaydi inches closer to Michael Phelps' record in 200m fly

Shareef Elaydi emerged as the No. 3 American in the history of the 200m fly, behind Michael Phelps and Thomas Heilman, with a time of 2:00.38 in the finals on Saturday.

Phelps, the greatest swimmer of all time, had recorded 1:59.02 at the Spring National Championships in 2000. At 15 years of age, he broke his first world record in the 200 butterfly, where he clocked 1:54.92. Phelps held the world record in 200m-fly for more than 18 years. The legendary swimmer's record was shattered by Kristof Milak in July 2019, who clocked a time of 1:50.73.

In 2021, Heilman nearly shattered Phelps' record by clocking 1:59.87. This time around, it was Elaydi who came close to doing so with a time of 2:00.38. The Santa Clara Swim Club swimmer shattered his own LSC Record of 2:03.03 at 2023's Far Western Championships.

Elaydi, 14, made his presence felt at the 100m butterfly event in 2023, with a winning time of 55.44 in the US boys' 13-14 national age group (NAG) rankings. According to SwimSwam, he was within a second of the 2024 US Olympic Trials with a time of 53.59. Elaydi also holds four 13-14 long course relay records.

Michael Phelps had a unique style in the butterfly

Bob Bowman, Phelps' coach, believes that the latter's biggest contribution to '2fly' was the continuous kicking motion. He had shared on X:

Phelps, the most celebrated butterflier of all time, bagged 6 Olympic gold medals for individual butterfly events and the world record in the 200m butterfly.

Phelps' style was unique - breathing every stroke. This method, as per SwimSwam, was not advised by coaches. It said:

"Phelps showed as long as it doesn't have a negative impact on your body position, it doesn't slow you down (and can make you faster, especially over 200 meters)."

Moreover, a blog (Your Swim Log) also highlighted the now-retired American swimmer's style, stating that Phelps' butterfly technique was notable as:

"He breathes every stroke. Phelps was able to do so because he pushed his head forward when swimming, instead up."

The former Olympian made the butterfly look effortless with his grace and coordination. The blog page added that Phelps, 38, dominated the walls, stating:

"He took the mantle from the great dolphin kickers of the 1990s and applied it to great effect, demoralizing his competition on the final turns of races with extended underwaters."